Todd Pletcher: 2026 Kentucky Derby Trainer Profile

No trainer has started more horses in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs than Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, who has had 65 starters in the Run for the Roses! Going all the way back to the fearsome foursome of Impeachment, More Than Ready, Trippi, and Graeme Hall on the first Saturday in May of 2000, Todd Pletcher ran at least one horse in all but two editions of the Kentucky Derby since then – only missing 2003 and 2025.

An eight-time Eclipse Award winner for outstanding trainer, he has a long history of developing horses he has trained into top-level winners and successful stallions, and the Kentucky Derby is a large part of that history. He also has a history of success in the Kentucky Oaks the day before: Pletcher earned Oaks wins in 2004 with Ashado, 2007 with Rags to Riches, 2013 with Princess of Sylmar, and 2021 with Malathaat.

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Todd Pletcher in the Kentucky Derby

Todd Pletcher has trained two Kentucky Derby winners: Super Saver in 2010 and Always Dreaming in 2017. Six more of his runners have hit the board. Those include money finishers in his first two years with Derby starters: Impeachment was 3rd in 2000, and Invisible Ink was second in 2001. His other horses with top-three Kentucky Derby finishes include Bluegrass Cat (second in 2006), Revolutionary (third in 2013), Danza (third in 2014), and Audible (third in 2018).

With all the Kentucky Derby runners he has had, however, Pletcher has only trained the Derby favorite twice. Both of his favorites came out of victories in the Florida Derby (G1) at Gulfstream Park. Pletcher won his second Derby with his first-ever favorite, Always Dreaming. Fierceness, the reigning juvenile Eclipse Award champion, ran into trouble and finished 15th in the 2024 Kentucky Derby, also becoming the first (and so far only) Derby favorite in the points era to finish out of the superfecta.

Todd Pletcher in the Triple Crown

Unlike the Kentucky Derby, Todd Pletcher is much less of a fixture in the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course than he is in the Run for the Roses. Though his history in the Preakness dates back to 2000, just like his history in the Kentucky Derby, he has run just 11 horses in the second jewel of the Triple Crown.

Todd Pletcher’s most recent starter in the Preakness is River Thames, who ran in 2025. He had a wide, tracking trip under jockey Irad Ortiz but flattened out in the lane, finishing third, beaten six lengths by favored Journalism – trained by Pletcher’s former assistant trainer, Michael McCarthy. Pletcher’s only horse to hit the board in the Preakness so far was his first-ever runner, Impeachment. He finished third behind Red Bullet in the 2000 Preakness Stakes.

On the other hand, Pletcher is a serious fixture in the Belmont Stakes. He runs a mix of talented up-and-comers as well as strong Kentucky Derby runners who then come into the Belmont off of a five-week break. Since his first runner in 2000, he has run 42 horses in the Belmont. It is his most successful Triple Crown race, one he has won four times: with Rags to Riches in 2007, Palace Malice in 2013, Tapwrit in 2017, and Mo Donegal in 2022. He has had another 13 horses hit the board in the final jewel of the Triple Crown, as well.

2026 Kentucky Derby Contender Renegade

Hopes have been high for Renegade since he went through the sales ring: by three-time Derby-winning sire Into Mischief out of the Curlin mare Spice Is Nice – herself a graded-stakes winner for Pletcher – he was purchased for $975,000 as a yearling by Repole Stable. Repole owns him in partnership with Robert and Lawana Low, who bred Renegade and campaigned Spice Is Nice.

Two-Year-Old Season

Renegade maintained a lot of Derby buzz for a horse who finished his juvenile season without breaking his maiden. He debuted in a 6 ½-furlong sprint at Saratoga in August, chasing the leading pair and finishing third – just half a length out of second, but well behind 17 ¾-length winner It’s Our Time.

Renegade stretched out to a mile for his next race at Aqueduct on October 17. He chased midfield, rallied, engaged even-money favorite Paladin, and outslugged him in the lane to finish first by a head – but bumped Paladin enough late that the stewards took him down to second.

That race ignited a rivalry that was renewed in the Remsen (G2) on December 6. The Remsen was billed as a clash between Paladin and Renegade – and though in upper stretch it looked like a battle was about to materialize, Paladin was better on the day. Renegade chased on for second, two lengths behind Paladin, but still 1 ½ clear of Balboa, his nearest rival.

Three-Year-Old Season

Renegade’s path diverged from Paladin’s into the winter. He made his sophomore debut in the Sam F. Davis, going 1 1/16 miles at Tampa Bay Downs. He was sent off the 6-5 favorite despite still being a maiden, and he did not disappoint, earning his first win and his first stakes win in one fell swoop. Settled near the rear of the field early, he sustained a bid around the far turn and into the lane, and cleared off to win by 3 ¾ lengths over Wayne’s Law. In third was a horse who has since emerged as a serious Derby contender, The Puma.

On March 28, the same day that his rival Paladin was taken off the Kentucky Derby trail after being injured in a workout, Renegade took his final prep in the Arkansas Derby (G1) at Oaklawn Park. He was the even-money favorite in a field that included consistent Oaklawn prospect Silent Tactic, and Bob Baffert entrant Litmus Test, and he ran to every bit of the bettors’ enthusiasm. He settled in the rear ranks of the eight-horse field, produced a flashy run down the lane, and rolled clear to win by four lengths, stamping himself the likely favorite.

Another factor that is likely to weigh toward Renegade being favored on the first Saturday in May is the jockey assignment. Irad Ortiz, Jr. had his pick after riding three different horses to wins in 100-point preps: Fulleffort, Further Ado, and Renegade. Ortiz chose to stick with Renegade. And, though Ortiz is still seeking his first Kentucky Derby, he is a strong big-race rider and has already won a Triple Crown race for Pletcher, the 2022 Belmont with Mo Donegal.

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